Gov. Umo Eno
By Anietie Akpan
The Extended Verification Exercise being carried out by the Akwa Ibom State Government is to vet the 8924 public servants who failed the just concluded verification exercise.
Some persons either due to their absence or inability to meet the Verification minimum requirements, did not make the first verification request.
This was made known by the Head of Service, Elder Effiong Essien while addressing newsmen in his office on Friday.
In his words, “We had 2,924 of the public servants that did not turn up for the verification exercise, while we also had over 6,000 of them that came up for the verification, but they did not meet the minimum requirements for the verification process for reasons of irregularity, NIN, bank detail, face mismatch, and things like that.“
To this end “His Excellency the Governor kindly extended the duration of the verification committee for one month.
“He opened that window for those whose verification failed, and probably those genuine ones who did not turn up to be verified, and he said 30 days from date of submission of verification report, that we should close that window and ensure that anybody who does not come up for the verification by the end of that one month should be counted as not being a staff of Akwa Ibom State Public Service.”
Speaking further, Essien added that the Governor has also directed the Verification of pensioneers saying, “for the retired workers, those are pensioners , His Excellency has directed that we should verify the records of pensioners as well.
“The Governor is workers’ friendly. His Excellency the Governor is somebody that I would say is approachable. He has a listening spirit to people’s situation and attends to them. So he is a man that is accommodative and easy to work with.”
Meanwhile, the Governor has approved the employment of 600 health workers and 100 occupational safety officers as part of efforts to strengthen public service delivery and improve healthcare and workplace safety in the State.
This Head of Civil Service said “the health sector will benefit significantly with 400 new health workers designated for the primary health sector and 200 for the secondary health sector, ensuring improved access to quality healthcare across the state.
In addition, he stated that “100 professional occupational safety officers will be recruited to uphold workplace safety standards and protect workers’ welfare.”
Speaking on the recruitment process, Essien confirmed and encouraged all qualified individuals to apply through the Akwa Ibom State employment portal, which is designed to ensure transparency and fairness in the selection process.
He remarked, “Pastor Umo Eno is a man who has a blood of compassion flowing in him. He shows compassion to almost everyone in need. He is compassionate to the workers of Akwa Ibom State.”
“The State government has urged unemployed applicants to register on the portal as all future public service recruitment will also be conducted through this platform.
“This initiative aligns with Governor Umo Eno’s commitment to tackling employment gaps in critical sectors while promoting transparency in governance.”
Essien also confirmed the marginal increase in pensions of retired workers in the State saying, “we will not forget the fact that Pastor Eno recently increased pension for those who retired before 2007 by 20,000 Naira, and increased for those who retired between 2007 and 2012 by 15,000 Naira. That has been done recently.
“And he also made a pension increase for retired permanent secretaries who retired before 2007. So he has already done this. We need to even know those who are still alive, who are receiving the pension from the State government”.
Governor Eno’s administration has consistently demonstrated its dedication to enhancing public service delivery. From implementing the ₦80,000 minimum wage for verified public servants to clearing gratuity backlogs for retirees, reflect his compassionate and people-centered approach to governance, he added.
